Leap of Faith
by YanksLuver
Summary: Following their second kiss, Robin and Patrick attempt a real date and have a hearttoheart.


**Title**: Leap of Faith  
**Author**: Steph  
**Rating**: PG  
**Pairing**: Robin/Patrick  
**Category**: Romance/Drama/Humor  
**Disclaimer**: I do this out of a love for the show. No infringement is intended.  
**Spoilers**: Just the last episode with the kiss and so-called 'date'.  
**Summary**: Following their second kiss, Robin and Patrick attempt a real date and have a heart-to-heart.

**Notes**: Okay, so I know I wasn't the only one who was disappointed they didn't follow up that second kiss. This story picks up right after the kiss. I also felt they needed a real, Carly-less date. Hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you thought. Thanks! -Steph

**---- Leap of Faith: Part 1/1 ----**

Robin and Patrick slowly parted. Robin smiled and looked up at him.

"What was that for?"

He grinned. "I finally figured out how to get you to shut up."

Robin raised her eyebrows. "Oh really."

"Yup, seems to work pretty well."

Robin shook her head. "Well, don't make a habit out of it."

"Oh, so that's how it is. You can kiss me whenever you want, in the middle of our workplace no less, but I have to follow rules."

"No, I'm saying that you can't just kiss me every time you don't want to listen to me anymore."

Patrick nodded. "That's true. I would never get any work done."

Robin smirked. "Very funny."

Patrick shrugged. "Look, if I heard you mention Carly's name one more time I was going to find the nearest sharp object and cut my ears off. I thought kissing you would be far less painful...and much more enjoyable."

Robin sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. I asked you out to dinner and then I ignored you the whole time."

He nodded, his lips curling into a smile. "Yes, you did. And I have to say that's the first time that's ever happened."

Robin chuckled. "Yes, I know. Sexy Dr. Drake has women hanging on his every word."

"I told you already. I happen to be a winning conversationalist."

Robin scoffed, her eyes twinkling. "I've seen the women you date. I think your conversational skills are the last thing on their minds."

His tongue darted out and licked his lips. "Maybe so."

Robin forced her eyes not to focus on his lips. "Well, I guess I owe you a real date."

"Yes, you do."

"Rain check?"

Patrick shook his head. "No way. I'm hungry. We didn't even get to eat. I was promised dinner and that's what I intend to have."

Robin smiled. "You're used to getting what you want, aren't you?"

His lips turned into a crooked grin, his eyes growing dark with desire as he looked down at her.

"I make it a point to."

Robin's smile slowly faded and her brow furrowed. "Is that what this has been about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been chasing me around for months. You're so used to having women throw themselves at you. I'm sure you've never had to work at getting any woman to be with you. Am I just a challenge for you? Has this just been about attaining something you thought was unattainable?" Robin looked down at the ground, "Because if it is, then you need to tell me now. I need to know if you're going to lose interest once it's no longer challenging."

Patrick shook his head and let out a breath of air. "Wow, I thought I was full of myself."

"What are you talking about?"

"You just made it sound like you're some priceless treasure that I've been chasing after."

"That's not what I meant."

"Well, that's how it came out."

"You didn't answer my question."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it started out that way. I guess I wanted to see if I could break down your walls when no one else seemed to be able to."

"So I was right."

"I said maybe it started out that way. Somewhere along the way things changed."

"How so?"

"I don't know. I guess I started to get to know you, understand you better. I started to see why you are the way you are."

Robin folded her arms over her chest. "Oh really. Care to share your insight with me?"

Patrick bit at his bottom lip. "You've been hurt. Your first love died and your second broke your heart. At some point, you decided it was easier, less painful, not to put yourself out there...open yourself up to anyone. It's not about your HIV. Not really. I think you hide behind that. I think you use it as an excuse to keep people at arm's length."

Robin shook her head. "Well, you just have me all figured out, don't you?"

"Am I wrong?"

Robin took a deep breath. "You know, I've gained some insight into you, too."

"We're not talking about me."

"We are now."

"Typical. You don't want to open up so you're changing the subject. That's probably why you were so focused on Carly tonight. It was easier than focusing on me. God forbid you let your guard down for a few minutes."

"You know, maybe you are right about me. But I'm not the only one who pushes people away. Look at your relationship with your father."

"I've reached out to him. For godsake, I offered him part of my liver. I can't help it if he won't meet me halfway."

"You don't want him to die, Patrick. That's not the same as opening up to him. You've never really tried to understand him."

"What's there to understand? He was once a gifted doctor who drank himself into oblivion when he couldn't save my mother."

"And you're afraid of turning into him."

"That won't happen."

"No, because you won't let it. Deep down, you know your father would have drowned himself with alcohol whether or not he had been the one to try to save your mother. It was about losing your mother. He loved her so much and it was easier to numb the pain with alcohol than face living without her. You're afraid of what will happen to you if you allow yourself to love someone that much and then lose her, just like your father. So you go after women you have no future with. But I guess I was different. I wasn't your usual target. I didn't bat my eyelashes and fall all over every word you said. You liked that, but it scared you."

He raised his brow. "Scared me? Where the hell are you getting that from? Do I seem scared to you?"

Robin shook her head. "Not at first glance. But this act you put on...this arrogant, ego-bigger-than-Texas act is designed to keep any woman you might have a future with at arm's length. Even when you were chasing after me, you kept it up because you knew that it would keep me away."

"And yet there you were kissing me in the middle of the hospital."

"You challenged me to go after what I want so I did. I guess I decided I wouldn't let you stand in my way. You see, you think you've done a great job of hiding your softer, sensitive side. You know, the side that might actually make a woman think about you as more than a meaningless fling. But I saw a different side of you when I got sick. You were worried. You cared."

Patrick rubbed at his face tiredly and sighed. "Well, this sure isn't how I expected this evening to go."

"So you're not denying it."

He shrugged. "I'm not even sure I understand half of what you said." A small smile then pulled at his lips. "Look, maybe I was doing what you said and maybe it stems from my father, but if I was, I didn't realize I was doing it. I wasn't purposely trying to push you away. I'm here with you now though and I'm willing to give this a try, if you are."

Robin's lips curled into a smile. "Okay."

"Now could we possibly stop with all of this talking and get something to eat before I pass out?"

Robin laughed. "All right. What did you have in mind?"

"I know just the place."

---

Robin's eyes widened as they arrived at their destination. "The Pizza Shack?"

"What?"

"It's a teen hangout, that's what."

"So? It also happens to have the best pizza in Port Charles."

Robin wrinkled her nose. "I don't know."

"Dr. Scorpio, are you a pizza snob?"

"No, I'm just wondering if the health department knows about this place."

"I eat here all the time. I've survived."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so this is one of the places you take all of your dates."

"I didn't say that. You're the first."

"So I should feel special."

He shrugged. "I don't know about that. I mean, this place is pretty cheap. Oh, but wait. That's right. You're treating. Well, in that case, cheap or not, I'm getting a pizza with the works."

Robin smiled and followed him to the window to order. Fifteen minutes later, they had their food. One table was empty so they sat down.

Robin watched as Patrick began to cut his pizza with a fork and knife.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"What? It's hot and messy. This is easier, not to mention safer. If you'd ever sustained a cheese burn on the roof of your mouth, then you'd understand."

Robin nodded. "Oh, yeah, pizza is very dangerous. I mean, think of the number of pizza-related injuries we see at the hospital."

Patrick smiled. "Glad you agree."

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Robin found herself eyeing Patrick.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I was just wondering what you were like as a kid."

Patrick swallowed his pizza and wiped at his mouth. "As a kid?"

"Yeah, what was young Patrick Drake like?"

"Well, he was...shorter."

Robin smiled and tilted her head. "Come on. Seriously."

"Oh, seriously. Okay, see you didn't say that before. What was I like as a kid? Well, believe it or not, I wasn't the most popular kid you've ever seen."

Robin grinned and shook her head. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it. I was a science geek all through elementary, middle, and high school. My chemistry set was my best friend."

"So when did you morph into the man I see today?"

"College. I was pre-med and killing myself. I had this professor who told me that I was gifted and that I would be a wonderful doctor someday. He then said that when I'm old and gray and looking back on my life, I'm going to want to see more than the faces of the people I've helped. I'm going to want to see the faces of the people I've loved. So, I decided to pull my nose out of a book long enough to have a life."

Robin nodded and smiled. "Hmm...that's a load of crap, isn't it?"

Patrick's lips spread into a broad smile and he dropped his head. "Guilty."

Robin playfully swatted his arm. "Come on. What were you really like?"

He shrugged. "I told you. I was shorter. I wasn't much different than I am today. I've always been confident."

"You mean arrogant."

"You say potato." He paused and then went on. "I've always been a hardworker. I was competitive. I think I mentioned at some point that I played baseball in high school before I decided I wanted to be a surgeon. I liked the adrenaline rush. I was Class President and head of the Chess Club."

"You were not."

He held up his fingers. "Scout's honor."

"Were you a scout?"

He smiled through his mouthful of pizza. "No."

"Well, then that means a lot."

"Seriously, I was head of the Chess Club. I made it cool."

"I don't doubt that," she replied with a smile.

He nodded. "I've always loved learning. I liked setting and meeting goals, but I tried to balance it. I know there's more to life than work."

"And you've always had girls following you around like a puppy dog."

"You asked."

Patrick picked up his cup of soda and eyed Robin over it. He swallowed and placed the cup down on the table.

"So what about young Robin Scorpio? And don't say she was shorter because I don't think that's possible."

Robin shook her head good-naturedly and gave him a gentle kick under the table.

"Ouch!" he said and reached beneath the table to rub at his leg. "So she was violent."

Robin shrugged her shoulders. "I had a strange childhood. You met my father, so you should understand. It wasn't a very stable childhood. My parents were always off somewhere. I never really felt like I had a real home. I guess that made me quiet and cautious. I buried myself in books. I liked living through the characters."

"Rather than actually living," he said pointedly.

Robin nodded. "It was easier. After I thought my parents died, I went to live with my Uncle Mac. It was the first time I felt like I had a real family, a real home. I allowed myself to live a little. I tested my boundaries. I went after Stone Cates. He was connected to Sonny and my uncle hated it."

Patrick raised his eyebrows. "I never would have suspected that you were a rebellious teenager."

"You knew I got HIV."

"So?"

"It's just...most people when they find out...think that I was some stupid, irresponsible kid. It wasn't the most responsible thing-..."

"You didn't know he had HIV. You were in love and you were a kid. Yeah, you could have been more responsible, but there's no point in beating yourself up about it now."

Robin nodded. "You're right. Well, after Stone died and I was diagnosed, I withdrew again...until Jason. He helped me feel love again, live life again."

"And then he broke your heart."

Robin shook her head. "I think I broke his first. Carly said he was Michael's father and I found out the truth. I let the secret out. He couldn't forgive me for it."

Robin's eyes filled with tears and she blinked them back. "Anyway, that was a long time ago."

"But you still live with it everyday. You live your life the way you do because you don't want to have your heart broken again."

Robin looked up at him and smiled sadly. "Don't worry about me, I've read a lot of great books."

She looked down and a tear fell onto the table. Patrick reached out and placed his hand over hers. She was surprised by the gesture and raised her head to meet his gaze.

He spoke softly, "Maybe it's time to put the books away." He paused and bit at his bottom lip. "You took a big step today...Going after me the way you did."

Robin laughed and wiped at the tears on her cheek. "A moment of temporary insanity."

"You know that's not true."

Robin swallowed around the lump in her throat as she looked up into his eyes. "The thing about books is I can spend a night living through my favorite characters. I can cry with them, laugh with them. They can love and lose. And then I can close the book and forget about it."

"What part of the book am I?" he asked.

Robin raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've lived inside books for so long that you must look at life a little differently than most."

Robin thought for a moment. "You're one of the roads."

Patrick's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

She smiled. "In every story, there comes a point when the main character is faced with a choice, a fork in the road. She can take one road and her life will go one way or she can take another and her life will go in a completely different direction. One road's usually the safe, predictable road."

"And the other?"

Robin looked into his eyes. "The other is a leap of faith."

Patrick nodded and smiled. "I guess I'm the leap of faith."

A smile pulled at Robin's lips. "You want to know a secret?"

"Is it juicy?"

She leaned forward and whispered, "I always pretend I'm the character and I make a choice. I always choose the leap of faith."

Patrick nodded. "I guess the question is whether or not you can step outside the safety of a book and make the same choice."

Robin smiled and stood up. She extended her arms and grabbed ahold of his collar. She then pulled him towards her. Her lips crashed into his, her tongue immediately parting his lips in search of his. She felt his hands move to the back of her head and pull her deeper into the kiss.

Then, slowly, she pulled back.

"How's that for an answer to your question?" she asked softly, her breath tickling his lips.

Patrick licked his lips and looked at her. "I'm still a little unclear. Maybe we should try again."

He leaned down towards her, his lips nearing hers again. She gently placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"You're a smart guy. You'll figure it out."

Patrick sighed and sat back down. "You're right, I am a smart guy. In fact, I know how to count to three. That makes three kisses in one day. I do believe we have a record to beat."

Robin simply chuckled and rolled her eyes.

**--------------------------------------------------THE END-----------------------------------------------**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought. -Steph


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